Shades of Gray
'' |image= |series= |production=40272-148 |producer(s)= |story=Maurice Hurley |script=Maurice Hurley Richard Manning Hans Beimler |director=Rob Bowman |imdbref=tt0708772 |guests=Diana Muldaur as Katherine Pulaski, Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien |previous_production=Peak Performance |next_production=The Ensigns of Command |episode=TNG B22 |airdate=17 July 1989 |previous_release=Peak Performance |next_release=Evolution |story_date(s)=Stardate 42976.1 |previous_story=Peak Performance |next_story=Evolution }} =Summary= During a geological survey on Surata IV, Commander William Riker is struck by a thorn growing on a motile vine plant. The away team immediately beams back to the Enterprise, where Dr. Katherine Pulaski finds out that the thorn has released a deadly virus into Riker's body. Within a matter of hours, the virus will reach Riker's brain, killing him. To try to save Riker's life, Pulaski puts him into a machine that will artificially stimulate his brain neurons, keeping them active and resisting the virus. This causes Riker to dream of his past adventures aboard the Enterprise. Riker's first dreams are of reasonably neutral occasions, such as his first meeting with Lieutenant Commander Data. He soon moves on to more passionate and even erotic dreams, such as meeting the cheerful young Edo women on Rubicon III, the matriarch Beata on Angel One, or the computer-generated holodeck woman Minuet. However, while pleasing to Riker's mind, the passionate dreams only worsen Riker's condition, as the virus feeds on the positive endorphins his brain is creating. Pulaski and Counselor Deanna Troi therefore agree to try to make the machine evoke negative dreams instead. Thus Riker dreams of Lieutenant Tasha Yar's death, or the apparent death of Deanna Troi's child. This has the desired effect, as the negative endorphins drive the virus away, but the endorphins are not strong enough. As a last resort, Pulaski uses the machine to evoke dreams of raw, primitive feelings of fear and survival. Thus Riker dreams of fighting the tar creature Armus, the alien-controlled Admiral Gregory Quinn, and the Klingon officer Klag on board the warship Pagh. Seeing that the raw emotions work best, Pulaski intensifies the dreams to come at a more rapid pace. This finally kills the virus and Riker recovers. =Errors and Explanations= Internet Movie Database Audio/visual unsynchronised # When Geordi and Data beam back down to the jungle, Data reports that his scanner detects no animal life within 50 kilometers, despite the fact that insect and bird noises are heard in the background. He may be referring to land animals. Errors in geography # In one of the clips where they are orbiting the alien world, they show the state of Michigan. Perhaps it just resembles Michigan!'IMDB entry tt0708772 Nit Central # ''Ryan on Saturday, August 11, 2001 - 3:25 am: After getting jabbed by the plant/vine thingy, Riker apparently just sits down on a rock and does nothing. LaForge has to stumble upon Riker sulking on his rock before any action is taken. This isn't right. If Riker feels that it's nothing, wouldn't he go on with the geological survey? And if he was feeling woozy, considering this is an uncharted planet, should he notify someone about this? Sitting and sulking on a rock waiting for someone to discover the scratch is silly and rather out-of-character for Riker. '''The shock of the plant jabbing him may have prompted him to sit and rest for a short while. # Pulaski reports that the alien microbes' growth level is at 0%. Then, suddenly Riker's life signs pop up back to healthy ranges, and Pulaski's scans detect no more alien microbes! She rejoices by calling the captain and proclaiming "The alien microbes have been eradicated!". Dang, these microbes must have pathetically short life spans. Shouldn't an infestation as advanced as the one in Riker live for a little longer than 10 seconds after their growth level hits 0%?? The reading for growth level may not include decimal points, which means the growth level could be below 1%, but above 0%. # LUIGI NOVI on Saturday, August 11, 2001 - 9:01 pm: After looking at the cut on Riker’s calf in the beginning of the teaser, Geordi calls O’Brien for beam out. Riker protests, dismissing the injury as just a scratch, and Geordi apologizes to him, saying that they can’t take any chances, they’re the first survey team on the planet, and they don’t know what the risks are. Somehow this didn’t feel right. It looked like Geordi was taking a leadership role, when it’s the type of thing someone like Riker should’ve said to a member of an away team. Riker could be making another attempt to assert his authority! # Ryan on Saturday, August 11, 2001 - 9:24 pm: It's really interesting that Pulaski beams down to inspect Riker. LaForge and Data beam up with the little whatever-it-is without a second thought, "Unnatural Selection" brought a quarantined child on-board where some examination was possible. Surely Riker can be beamed up to be examined in some force field, instead of forcing Pulaski onto the surface of a dangerous planet. She needs to scan Riker in situ, to ensure that transporter usage won't exacerbate the situation. =References= Category:The Next Generation Category:Episodes